If you’ve been diagnosed with fatty liver disease, changing your diet is essential.
The condition occurs when the liver accumulates excessive fat, leading to liver damage, impaired toxin removal, and reduced bile production. This can result in various health issues.
To combat fatty liver disease, it’s crucial to consume foods that fight damage, reduce insulin resistance, and lower inflammation.
This article provides a detailed guide to help you understand and follow a diet for fatty liver along with a sample 7 day plan.
Fatty Liver Foods to Eat
Nuts and Seeds
One study found walnuts were one of the best nuts to improve liver function due to their high polyunsaturated fat content (1).
However, all nuts and seeds can help. Another study found 2–3 servings of nuts per day decreased “bad” LDL cholesterol by an average of 10.2 mg/dl (7).
Lowering cholesterol is a key marker to help reverse fatty liver disease.
Fatty Fish
Fatty fish is high in omega-3 fatty acids, which many studies have shown can help improve liver health. (2, 3, 4, 5, 6).
Eating fatty fish like salmon has been shown to help reduce C-Reactive Protein, or CRP (7, 8).
High levels of CRP in the blood are a marker of inflammation, another key marker you should be trying to reduce.
Oats
Oats
They are also useful for fighting inflammation and diseases that progress from that such as obesity and diabetes.
If you do eat oats, ensure they are whole or steel-cut oats. Prepackaged oatmeal often contains additional sugars, making them less useful for fighting fatty liver.
Fruits and Vegetables
One study found that eating various plant-based foods can help improve liver health and fight fatty liver disease. This is because nearly all fruits and vegetables contain compounds that are closely related to liver health.
However, some studies have focused on specific fruits and vegetables.
For example, avocados contain lots of healthy monounsaturated fats and some research shows they contain potent chemicals that may reduce liver damage (10).
Broccoli and other leafy green vegetables can help aid weight loss shown. One study found that eating broccoli helped prevent the buildup of fat in the liver in mice (11).
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Olive oil can help lower the risk of inflammation-related diseases. These include cardiovascular and heart disease, cancer and diabetes (12, 13, 14, 15, 16).
One study found that people who consumed 1.7 ounces (50 ml) of olive oil per day and ate a Mediterranean-style diet had significantly reduced inflammatory markers (17).
It’s worth noting that extra virgin olive oil has better anti-inflammatory benefits than refined olive oils (18). This is because refined olive oils are diluted with cheaper oils that aren’t as healthy.
Fatty Liver Foods to Avoid
You should try and reduce your intake of these if you’re trying to reverse fatty liver disease. On the whole, these foods help you gain weight and increase blood sugar levels.
- Alcohol is one of the major contributors to fatty liver disease. Many drinks also contain a lot of calories that can lead to weight gain.
- Fried foods such as french fries, donuts and fried meats are high in saturated fats.
- Added sugar in things such as candy, cookies, sodas, and fruit juices can cause high blood sugar levels, which eventually gets stored as fat
- Refined carbohydrates like white bread, pasta, crackers, flour tortillas and biscuits can spike your blood sugar levels. There is also less fiber in refined carbs than in whole grains, which makes them less filling. This can lead to overeating.
- Red and processed meats bacon, canned meat, salami, sausages and beef are high in saturated fats.
What’s the Best Fatty Liver Diet Plan?
The Mediterranean diet is continuously rated as one of the best diets due to how healthy it is and how easy it is to follow
This makes it perfect for people looking for a long-term solution rather than a short-term fix.
It emphasizes eating vegetables, fruits, nuts, seeds, legumes, whole grains, bread, herbs, spices, fish, seafood and extra virgin olive oil.
Many studies have been conducted on the Mediterranean diet that show its usefulness for fatty liver disease (19, 20, 21, 22, 323).
Various organizations support eating a Mediterranean diet to reverse fatty liver disease and other health-related, such as:
If you want more information on the Mediterranean diet itself, check out our full guide on what the Mediterranean diet covers here.
7 Day Fatty Liver Diet Meal Plan
Sample Menu
In the meal plan are recipes for breakfast, lunch and dinner.
| Breakfast | Lunch | Dinner | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mon | Blueberry Blues Porridge | Greek Salad | Haddock Risotto |
| Tues | Basil & Spinach Scramble | Falafel Wraps | Eggplant & Lentil Bake |
| Wed | Tomato & Watermelon Salad | Carrot, Orange & Avocado Salad | Mediterranean Chicken, Quinoa & Greek Salad |
| Thurs | Blueberry Blues Porridge | Mixed Bean Salad | Grilled Vegetables with Bean Mash |
| Fri | Basil & Spinach Scramble | Panzanella Salad | Salmon & Chickpea Salad |
| Sat | Tomato & Watermelon Salad | Spiced Carrot & Lentil Soup | Chicken Gyros |
| Sun | Blueberry Blues Porridge | Moroccan Chickpea Soup | Spicy Mediterranean Beet Salad |
Snacks are recommended between meal times. Some good snacks include:
- A handful of nuts or seeds
- A piece of fruit
- Carrots or baby carrots
- Berries or grapes
Day 1: Monday
Breakfast: Breakfast Blues Porridge
Nutrition
- Calories – 347
- Protein – 15g
- Carbs – 42g
- Fat – 15g
Prep time: 5 minutes
Ingredients (for 2 people)
- ½ cup (50g) porridge oats
- ⅚ cup (200ml) milk
- ½ tsp vanilla extract
- 2 tbsp Greek yogurt
- ⅛ cup (25g) chia seeds
- ¾ cup (150g) blueberries
- ⅓ cup (25g) flaked almonds
Instructions
- Mix the porridge oats, milk, vanilla extract, Greek yogurt and chia seeds in a bowl and soak for one minute. Once the oats have softened, add some of the blueberries.
- Place the mixture into two bowls and add any remaining berries and almonds.
Lunch: Greek Salad
Nutrition
- Calories – 273
- Protein – 6g
- Carbs – 14g
- Fat – 24g
Prep time: 5 minutes
Ingredients (for 2 people)
- ⅘ cup (120g) cherry tomatoes,
- 1 cucumber, peeled, deseeded and roughly chopped
- ½ red onion, thinly sliced
- ⅓ (60g) or about 16 Kalamata olives
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- ⅓ cup (50g) feta cheese, crumbled
- 2 tbsp olive oil
Instructions
- Place all of the ingredients in a large bowl and lightly season. Serve with wholemeal bread.
Dinner: Haddock Risotto
Nutrition
- Calories – 508
- Protein – 40g
- Carbs – 46g
- Fat – 15g
Prep time + cook time: 45 minutes
Ingredients (for 2 people)
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 large leek, thinly sliced
- ⅓ cup (150g) risotto rice, such as arborio or carnaroli
- 1 ½ cups (350ml) vegetable stock
- ½ cup (125ml) milk
- 9-10 oz (280g) smoked haddock,
- skinned and cut into large chunks
- 2 tbsp Greek yogurt
- 1 ⅔ cups (50g) baby spinach
Instructions
- Heat oven to 400F (200C). Heat the oil in an oven-proof dish over a medium heat. Cook the leek for 4-5 minutes, until just tender. Add the rice and stir for 2 extra minutes.
- Add the stock and milk, bring to a boil and simmer for 5 minutes. Add the haddock on top. Cover with foil and bake in the oven for 18 minutes until the rice is tender.
- Add the Greek yogurt and spinach and season. Cover the pan again and leave to rest out of the oven for 3 minutes before serving.